At under $150 and with an impressively ventilated, vaulted design, Giant’s new Rail looks promising on paper, but the awkward fit let it down for our test team. Its external shaping is bang on trend, with extra depth over the temples and the rear of the skull. The dial-tightened, height-adjustable cradle looks the same as on many helmets that fit fine too. Unfortunately, the Rail felt perched and continued to rock sideways even when we tightened it up enough to cause obvious pressure from the rear harness and the two hard lumps that protrude beneath the MIPS liner on the brow. The exposed polystyrene lowers are vulnerable to cosmetic damage as well.
It’s still worth a look in case it fits you, though. The big vents open into deep, wide ventilation channels over the cutaway MIPS liner and narrow pads for impressive cooling airflow. It radiates heat well too, even when you’re crawling along, and the cutaway design means it’s also light (340g) for the depth of coverage. The flexible peak flips up for goggle storage and there’s even an elasticated bungee ‘V’ to hold the strap in place at the back. That gully at the front is designed to hold a camera mount securely too.
HIGHS
- Light and really well ventilated
- Feature loaded
LOWS
- Obvious pressure points and unstable fit for most of our testers
Lightweight, well ventilated and affordable extended-coverage trail/enduro lid, but with fit issues
Price $150